Soup for me would be kingdom updates, of any kind, at all. For you, soup could be something else. Most importantly though, no soup for you.
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So nice to see they think the game is ready for prime time…wow
Soup Crackers /20char
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Well, this would explain why 0.40 didn’t show up on time… because there isn’t going to be a 0.40 and instead 1.0 is coming on March 1.
So… that would mean that all of the following will be dumped on us all at once:
- Missing Kingdom functionality
- Fixing multiplayer crashes
- A whole slew of balancing issues (followers / gear effects / etc , etc)
- The actual rest of the game’s economic system
- Replacing placeholder systems with real ones (such as PvP rewards)
- Season functionality
And so on and so forth.
“Yikes” is an understatement.
Sounds like the publisher wants the game out the door with a minimum viable product. Steam screenshots do not show either of the two additional classes that were teased way back on Salty’s dev stream.
Looks there is space on this page for the additional considered cosmetic skins in the future for each classes.
Four weeks before the masses show up. Enjoy the leaderboards while you can.
It is still possible that there will be an update before March 1 (me attempting to muster some optimism lol)
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Hoping for something too.
But being realistic here, if the game is starting shifting over to a normal deployment schedule then that would likely mean that the 1.0 content is going to need to be in stone ~2 weeks in advance. It’s really unlikely the devs would put out a mini-update with a two week development window before the launch update is locked in. If an update does not roll today or tomorrow (unlikely based on the Jeto bug report post from earlier today), then it’s really full speed ahead for 1.0.
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The devil is in the details. This is not a v1.0 launch, merely a launch on Steam Early Access.
Sadly Steam Early Access is as much the Wild West as Android Early Access with no one policing it for content or quality. The EA disclaimer is pretty much Steam washing their hands of it - buy if you’re happy with the state of it now - though in this case free to play. If the dev decides to walk away and abandon it, well sucks to be you is pretty much the policy.
What I do find galling is the repeat statement of Why Early Access?
WHAT THE DEVELOPERS HAVE TO SAY:
Why Early Access?
“Early Access allows us to continue to develop the game with the support and help of our amazing community. While the game is already rich in content and features, we believe that the opportunity to work directly with players and collect feedback is an essential next step before official release. We’re looking forward to working with the PC Steam community to achieve that final step and bring new changes to the game over time that will help optimize the experience on the platform.
As the Early Access period progresses, we’ll introduce free content updates that bring new features into the game, gameplay optimizations, and more. The community will help play a critical role in shaping the game’s progress during this time!”
Because we’ve seen just how forthcoming they are with info here, and engaging with the community, on their own forum.
insert tumbleweed
Now Steam can generate a whole new load of threads and ideas for the community manager to engage with. Or just carry on as they are now. 
In terms of a road to release date
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“We intend to give the game the time it needs on PC Early Access to optimize the experience on PC, which we estimate could be released within a year depending on feedback. Updates on the game’s progress will be shared via our community channels as Early Access progresses.”
Being vague on an EA post is pretty normal, but I’m not quite sure how that fits with the PQ3 own website which thought they would be launched by late 2021. Obviously that date slipped, but there is slipping a few months, and there is slipping a year plus. So which is it?
Edited out the code blocks as they formatted horribly.
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A snip from the announcement page, emphasis added,
It’s a game that defined a genre and led us to where we are today, so I can think of no better way to celebrate than to finally announce that Puzzle Quest 3 on mobile (iOS/Android) will officially release along with PC Steam Early Access on March 1st, 2022!
Official release = 1.0
The question is whether Steam gets a 0.40 build while mobile receives 1.0. If the two ecoystems can play together, then the answer is going to be that both platforms are receiving 1.0. The game servers won’t allow version mismatches to play with each other. If that is the case, than the Early Access moniker is just there to signify that keyboard and mouse controls are not finished yet.
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That would mean that the current 0.39 is maybe one update off being the v1.0 release?
The campaign currently has no map or animation.
PVP is just turn 0 builds
Kingdoms have had no work since forever
Leaderboards have no balance and nothing done to address bugs/exploits for months
Equipment rebalance never completed (yay +10 armor on a match when getting hit for 10k+ )
Ore, Food, crafting, evolving
Where is the endgame?
pretty much all the feedback threads of the past several months…
That’s either going to be one hell of a patch, or is this it?
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Looks like it that very well may be the situation.
Completely armchair quarterbacking here, but from my personal past experience as a GoW beta tester for a couple of years, this situation feels like one of the old beta tests. What was shown to beta testers was a portion of each actual update being tested, and there was always portions of updates that were “new” to beta testers when they were released to the production servers.
I think at a certain point, perhaps likely after the game’s original expected release date, an internal decision was made to “wrap it up” on whatever development was close to completion and to ship the game as it is now late and impacting the publisher’s financial forecasts. As a live service game, the late content can always just be added in with the 1.1, 1.2, or however many updates it takes to roll everything out.
That said… internally all of the issues in the beta must be resolved to the devs’ satisfaction. First impressions are huge for a game’s survivabiility, so the devs must be confident in their decisions on each of the items that you mention.
I’d agree that the 1.0 update is going to be one hell of a patch and there’s likely going to be a metric ton of balance changes and nerfs that are going to be kept quiet until launch day.
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The one thing we know they are good at.
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“We’ve poured over the data from thousands of battles and millions of gems matched to balance things just right”
That’s my favorite part.
Raise your hands if you think anything at all is balanced, even a little bit ok… much less “just right.”
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Hey folks,
Just a note to let you all know that the version releasing will be v1.0.
There are further features, bug fixes, database and server optimisations for this version release.
An in game message will be sent to our existing players to give you all additional details that are relevant for our early access players on Android and iOS.
Steam is launching in early access as we have not had a beta for PC, so while they’ll be receiving the same version as mobile, releasing in early access on PC gives our Steam community a chance to test the game more on Steam and address any concerns with gameplay on PC.
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Hi Kafka,
The current battle pass rotation does not line up with the planned March 1 release date (it renews a week earlier). Are there going to be any adjustments to the next pass to align it with it with the 1.0 release?
The plan is to keep the Quest Pass schedule, so our Early Access players on Android and iOS get some extra time in it, and you will keep your progress even after the official launch.
I don’t suspect this will change but I’ve flagged it with the team so if the plans do change we can let you all know via the forums and in game.
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Wait, really?
Your plan is to launch a game to the public that is already 1 week into the most recent battle pass? This seems like self-sabotage and a setup for the newest of players to have a bad taste in their mouth right out of the gate.
…actually, nevermind, that is exactly the kind of thing you guys would do.
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Fresh players can’t access the Quest Pass straight away.
The game modes and other things unlock more and more as you progress in the game, it’s not all immediately open, so as not to overwhelm new players.
In addition, not everyone will start on launch day so there will be a small transition window between the launch day and the new Quest Pass beginning so that more new players will have the opportunity to participate, while our Early Access players can continue doing their thing and earning their rewards.
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